Phoolan Devi (10 August 1963 – 25 July 2001), popularly known as "The Bandit Queen", was an Indian dacoit (bandit) and later a politician. She was notorious across India during her time as a bandit.

Phoolan was born into the lower mallha (boatmen) caste, in the small village of Gorha ka Purwa in Uttar Pradesh, India. She was the second child in a family of four girls and a boy.

Isabel Allende is a master storyteller in the genre of magical realism. Her novels have been translated into 30 languages, and have sold more than 51 million copies worldwide.

Her list of honours, awards and accomplishments is truly staggering. But none of this, according to her, reflects who she is, or what has been important in her life.

This spellbinding 2007 TED Talk by world-renowned writer and feminist Isabel Allende alternately made me laugh, cry, and reflect.

So much of what she says revolves around themes that I’ve recently been exploring in my own life. It truly resonated with me, as I hope it will with you.